WiggleCRC owner SIGNA Sports equity woes sharpen with €150m commitment termination

SIGNA Holding has this week terminated its unconditional €150 million Equity Commitment to SIGNA Sport United NV – owner of WiggleCRC.

The move piles the misery on SIGNA Sports, which was already signalling significant challenges. Earlier this month it revealed it was delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and restructuring amid “severe liquidity challenges”. Just weeks later, this withdrawal of the €150 equity commitment puts the company into an exceedingly difficult spot.

SIGNA Sports said the availability of funds under the commitment from SIGNA Holding constituted the basis of the Management’s going concern and liquidity assumptions and thus “the company will evaluate appropriate measures”, in the interests of creditors and employees.

Understandably, SIGNA Sports said the removal of the unconditional Equity Commitment Letter was unjustified.

SIGNA Sports entered into a binding equity commitment letter dated 25 June 2023 with unconditional commitments by SIGNA Holding to provide the Company with additional liquidity of €150 million in the period from 1 September 2023 to 30 September 2025, supplemented by a side letter dated September 27, 2023, to cover the operational financing needs of SSU and to secure the going concern of SSU. Of the original €150 million commitment, €143 million remains undrawn to date. SIGNA Holding has terminated the Equity Commitment Letter today.

SIGNA Sports said: “After many years of mutually trusted collaboration and reliable financing between the Company and SIGNA Holding, SSU has relied on the binding and unconditional nature of the Equity Commitment Letter to continue to draw funds to meet its near-term obligations and for its going concern assessment of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company considers the termination of the Equity Commitment Letter by SIGNA Holding unjustified.”

While we’ve noted WiggleCRC is owned by SIGNA Sports, the company has a huge footprint – more than 80 online sites and partners with 500 shops serving around six million customers worldwide. The businesses cover bikes, tennis and outdoor markets.